Idioms — Set 83

Set 83 of Idioms covers 5 idioms: get your foot in the door, lose your marbles, be all thumbs, go the whole nine yards, go back to the drawing board. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

1. get your foot in the door · idiom/ɡɛt jʊr fʊt ɪn ðə dɔr/

   to take an initial step toward an opportunity

   This internship may not pay much, but it’s a great way to get your foot in the door.

   Origin: From 19th-century door-to-door salesmen — sticking a foot in a closing door bought a moment to make their pitch.

2. lose your marbles · idiom/luz jʊr ˈmɑrbəlz/

   to lose one’s sanity or act irrationally

   He started talking to himself in the middle of the meeting—I think he’s losing his marbles.

   Origin: American slang from the 1880s — marbles symbolized wits, so losing them meant losing mental clarity completely.

3. be all thumbs · idiom/bi ɔl θʌmz/

   to be clumsy or awkward

   I’m terrible at wrapping gifts; I’m all thumbs when it comes to folding paper neatly.

   Origin: From the 1500s — thumbs are clumsier than fingers, so a person made entirely of thumbs would handle things badly.

4. go the whole nine yards · idiom/ɡoʊ ðə hoʊl naɪn jɑrdz/

   to do something completely and with maximum effort

   She planned every detail of the party perfectly—she really went the whole nine yards.

   Origin: An American 20th-century phrase — possibly from WWII pilots, whose machine gun belts were nine yards long total.

5. go back to the drawing board · idiom/ɡoʊ bæk tu ðə ˈdrɔɪŋ bɔrd/

   to start over and rethink a plan or approach

   Our marketing plan failed, so we have to go back to the drawing board and try again.

   Origin: Popularized by a 1941 New Yorker cartoon — an engineer comments while his crashed plane burns behind him.